Gravitations

Gravitations is a term used to describe the gravitational interaction and, more broadly, the field of gravitation. It covers the forces that attract masses and the theories that describe how these forces operate. In classical physics, gravity is described by Newton's law of universal gravitation, which states that any two masses attract each other with a force proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. The gravitational field concept and gravitational potential energy arise from this framework.

With Einstein's general theory of relativity, gravity is understood as the curvature of spacetime produced by mass and energy. In this view, objects follow the straightest possible paths (geodesics) in a curved geometry, and gravity is not a separate force in the traditional sense. The equivalence principle underpins this theory, asserting the local indistinguishability of gravitational and inertial effects.

Key predictions and phenomena include the bending of light by gravity, gravitational time dilation, orbital precession, and gravitational waves, the latter detected directly in the 2010s and beyond. In weak-field situations, Newtonian gravity provides accurate approximations, while relativistic effects become important for high speeds or strong gravitational fields.

Applications span celestial mechanics, satellite navigation, space missions, and gravitational lensing studies used to probe dark matter and the expansion of the universe. Current research tests general relativity, searches for deviations that might indicate new physics, and studies gravity's role in cosmology and structure formation.